Car-brake.



No. 744,569. PATENTED NOV. 17, 1908.

r J. AU;

GAR BRAKE.

AIPLIOATION FILED JUNE 13, 1908.

' N0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEETI.

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PATENTED NOV. 17, 1903.

J. B. L AU.

GAR BRAKE.

I APPLICATION FILED JUNE 13, 1903.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

N0 MODEL.

N INVENTOR= John E7. 124W,

WITNESSES: 53M mm.

ATTORNEY.

m: norms PEYERS co. FNOTO-LITHO., WASHINGTON, a. c.

35 7 detail View showing a certain hand-lever and Patented November 17, 1903 PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN B. LAU, OF NEWARK, NEW'JERSEY.

OAR-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 744,569, dated November 17, 1903;

Application filed we 13,

To all whom it Weary concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN B.L.eU, a subject of the Emperor of Germany, residing at New ark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented and produced new and original Improvements in Car-Brakes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description'of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertainsjto make and use the same, reference being' had to the ac companylng drawings, and to figures of ref-' erence marked thereon, which form a part of this specification. v

The object of this invention is to moreef fectively, surely, and quickly stop the progress of tramway, trolley, or similar cars run ning on tracks and to secure other advantages and results, some of which will be hereinafter referred to in connection with the description of the working parts. Preferably it is adapted to serve as an emergency-brake with any of the common brakes now in vogue.

The invention consists in the improved carbrake and in the arrangements and combina tions of parts of the same, all substantially as will be hereinafter set forth, and finally embraced in the clauses of the claim.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in each of the several figures, Figure 1 is a side elevationof a portion of a car to which-my improved brake has been applied. Fig. 2 is adetail view of a brake-shoe resting on a track. Fig. 3 is a its immediate connections; and Fig. 4 is a plan of the device, certain parts being omitted to more clearly illustrate those remaining.

In said drawings, 5 indicates a car body or frame of any suitable construction, and 6 represents the wheels suppo'rting'the same. At a point on said body or frame 5 rearward of the 190s. $erialNo. 161,259. (meal integral piece, cast or wrought together in any suitable "manner; but they may be constructed in a plurality of joined pieces, if so desired.

The brake-shoe-carrying bar or shaft 11 at its opposite ends extends a little beyond the outer arms 10 10 and is threaded to receive the nuts 14, and on the extensions of said bar or shaft arearranged the links 15 15 by which the brake-shoes 16 16 are suspended from the'frame 8. Said brake-shoes 16 are pivoted 'ona connecting-shaft 17, extending from one shoe to the other and at itsopposite' ends lying in front of the wheels 6 and over the tracks 13, the shoes being so disposed on said shaft 17 as to drop on said track when. the frame 8 and connections are lowered.

The links 15, connecting the frame 8 and shaft 17, permit a certain independence of horizontal movement, so that the car after the shoes have been dropped upon the track can travel forward onto said shoes and be stopped by such engagement. To permit the. shoes 16 to set upon the track in advance of the wheels 6, the armslO are of considerable length, much longer than one of the radii of thewheel'6, and the parts are so arranged and relatedas to cause the shoes to drop a little forward of the wheels, and the rearward concavous side of the shoes will lie away from the wheels at first. The wheels will then ride up and against the concave face of said shoes and be stopped thereby, the weight of the wheels on the shoes increasing the friction of the flat under faces of the shoes on the rails. i

To prevent the shoes from slipping on the rails, the flat under sides may be provided The under side of the shoe is preferably provided with a flange 19 to engage the side of the rail, as indicated in Fig. 2, and the upper side is recessed or grooved, as at 20, to receive the flange of the wheel.

To operate the frame and lift and hold the shoes up and away from the track, I have provided a lever 21, which is fulcrumed on the frame or body of the car, as in Fig. 1, and is connected by a rod 22 to the arm 12 of the frame, so that when the said rod 22 is drawn forward by said lever 21 the frame at its free end and the shoes connected therewith will be permitted to drop; but when said rod is forced backward the said frame and shoes will be raised out of braking relation to the rails. The arm 23 of the lever 21 is bent upward, as in Figs. 1 and 3, and is rounded to enter a socket 24 in the lower extremity of the hand-lever 25, fulorumed at 26 011 a suitable standard 27, attached to the front platform of the car. The upper end of said handlever 25 is provided with a catch 28 to hold said lever in position to hold the shoes in their elevated positions. Said catch 28 consists, preferably, of a spring doubled, as shown in Fig. 3, the lower arm 29 of which is bolted or otherwise secured to the standard, while the upper arm 30 is provided with a catch exten' sion 31, adapted to engage the hand-lever. Said hand-lever is preferably horizontally perforated with a slot 32, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, through which the upper and lower arms of the spring-catch pass, and the catch extension is adapted to engage the hand-lever at the upper end of the slot.

To release the catch extension from the hand-lever, I prefer to provide a supplemental lever 33, having a handle 34: lying approximately parallel with the handle of the main hand-lever 25. Said hand-lever 25 is again slotted horizontally near its handle, as at 35, and the said supplemental lever is bent horizontally, as at 36, Fig. 3, and extends through the upper slot 35 and on the opposite side of the hand-lever is again bent or turned downward into engagement with the free arm of the spring, so as to press said arm away from catching engagement when the two handles are grasped and drawn together by the hand of the motorman.

In operation the brake-shoes are held normally in their elevated positions, and when the car is to be stopped the handles of the hand-levers 25 33 are grasped by the hand, drawn together to release the catch, and then pulled horizontally, so as to turn the main hand-lever 25 on its fulcrum 26. This action effects a pivotal movement of the lever 21 and a forward movement of the connecting-rod 22, which last causes the free end of the lever-like frame 8 to move downward, the movement being greatly facilitated by the weight of the free end of the said frame and the shoes attached thereto. Indeed, the weight of said parts may serve as the prime motive force in the braking operation. The flat or straight sides of the shoes resting on the track a little in advance of the wheels (3, the latter ride upon the inclines of the shoes, the links 15 15 permitting such action, after which the wheels are stopped in the coneavities. A reverse operation of the main hand-lever and its connections again raises the shoes to their normally inoperative position. lVhile I prefer to employ my brake as an emergency brake, it can be employed in the regular work of stopping the car to let passengers on or off.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new is- 1. In a car-brake, the combination with a lever and its fulcrum, of a brake-shoe loosely connected with the forward end of said lever and adapted to drop upon the track in front of the wheel of the car, and a train of levers and their connections attached to the rear end of said lever and adapted to be operated by the motorman or driver of the car, substantially as set forth.

2. In a car'brake, the combination with the shoe, a link pivotally connected to said shoe, a lever fulcrumed on the car intermediate of its ends and at its forward end having said link attached, said lever being adapted to lower said shoe upon the track forward of the wheel, and the opposite end of said lever extending upward from the fulcrum, a connecting-rod attached to said upwardlyextending end, and a lever operating said connecting-rod and its connections, substantially as set forth.

The improved car-brake comprising a pair of shoes having straight under sides to engage the track and concave uppersides to receive the wheels, links 15, a lever-like frame extending rearward and being fulcrumcd on the car body or frame, another lever fulcrumed on said body and connected to the first by a connecting-rod, and a hand -lever adapted to be controlled by the motorman of the ear, substantially as set forth.

4. The improved car-brake, comprising a pair of shoes having straight under sides and concave upper sides, a connecting-shaft on which said shoes are pivoted, a frame ful- .crumed on the car rearward of the wheels to be stopped by the brake-shoes, said frame having a rearwardly and upwardly extending arm, a connectingrod extending forwardly from said arm, a lever connecting with said connecting-rod and having an upwardly-extending arm and a socketed hand-lever e11- gaging the last said lever, and a catch for holding said parts, substantially as set forth.

5. The improved car-brake, comprising a pair of shoes having straight under sides and concave upper sides, a connecting-shaft 011 which said shoes are pivoted, a frame fulcrumed on the car rearward of the wheels to be stopped by the brakeshoes, said frame having a rearwardly and upwardly extending IIO arm, a connecting-rod extending forwardly sion from said hand-lever, substantially as from said arm, a lever connecting with said set forth. r.

connecting-rod and having an upwardly-ex- In testimony that I claim the foregoing I tending arm and a socketed hand-lever enhave hereunto set my hand this 6th day of 5 gaging the last said lever, and a catch oon-- June, 1903.

sistin of a bent sprin havin a catchin extension adapted to engage the handJeVe i JOHN and hold the latter and the shoes in conneo-' Witnesses:

tion therewith in inoperative relation and a CHARLES 1i. PELL,

IO lever for releasing the spring-catching exten- RUSSELL M. EVERETT. 

